Safety device for boilers



Dec. 23-, 1930. w. LBEUTEL SAFETY DEVICE FOR BOILERS Filed Feb. 28, 1928 Patented Dec. 23, 1930 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE WERNER BEUTEL, 01 BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR 0F ONE-HALF TO 'ROBERT IBOHM, OF BRIDGEPORT, CONNECTICUT sun'rv DEVICEFOR nomans Application m February-28,1928. Serial No. 257,788.

This invention relates to, a safety. device for boilers, particularly boilers heated by liquid or gaseous fuel. or electricity. The application of liquid or-gaseous fuel for heating purposes has reached extensive proportions. v Usually in this type of heating means the supply of fuel is controlled by various devices making the operation of the heating system more or less automatic, and in the case of liquid fuel the fuel is burned in special burners involving means for va porizing the fuel, and some of them use fans operatedby electric motors, all of which may be controlled by a thermostat at any desirable location. This automatic functioning of the system is developing a tendency to faulty attention to the heater, which may under certain conditions be disastrous to the equipment or property in which it is installed. At present there is a limited protection against low water level in'a steam boiler bythe use are also devices for controlling the'fuel by means responsive to changes in the water level in the boiler, but in spite of these devices there have been a number of instances where, cracking or burning out of boilers has occurred as a result of the boiler level reaching too low a limit.

To overcome these objections I have devised the mechanism shown in the accompanying drawing forming a part of this specification, and it is an object of the invention to provide a simple and effective device which in normal operation oftheboiler in no way interferes with the operation of the boiler, will function only when the level of the water in theboiler reaches a predetermined low limit, and will then operate with a positive operation to shut off the fuel supply or otherwise shut down the heating ele ment.

It isalso an object of the invention to provide a device of this character in which its performance is governed by the water-level itself, thus preventing any possible injury to the boiler. v p 1 It is a still further to provide an automatic control device which of fusible plugs, and there object of the invention 7 works entirely independent of any changes inthe steam pressures.

In the accompanying drawin Fig. 1 is a front elevation 0% the control device, parts being 'broken away to more clearly show the construction, and

Fig. :2 is. a' partial side elevation and a partial vertical section showing the device applied to a boiler. n

In both figures of the drawing the device is shown in full lines in its normal position when the'boiler is operating under normal conditions. 1 The boiler of any suitabletype is indicated at 5 and it may have any suit'- able type of fire box 6 in which is mounted an suitable, type ofheater 7,;comprising eit er a liquid or gaseous fuel burner, or electric heating element, as is found desirable. This showing of the burner is merely diagrammatic and is intended to'indicate any suitable type of burner to be used with or w thout atomizing: or vaporizing a paratus or an electrically operated blower. s shown there is a supply pi e 8 leading to this burner from any suita le source of fuelnot shown, and it is controlled by a shut ofi valve 9, This supply pipe may also be controlled by any of the usual types of hand controlled valves or valves controlled automatically by a thermostat at a suitable location, all of which are not shown as they form no part of my invention.

' At one side of the boiler is a suitable support as a pedestal 10 on which is mounted a trunnion racket 11 which is supported at the proper height by the pedestal. This bracket has. a pair of aligned hollow trunnions 12 and 13 including tubular or hollow pivotal elements 14 and 15 both of which are mounted to turn in their supports which include suitable packing glands 17 to prevent leakage of water about the trunnions. Each ofsediment and are provided at their lower portions with a removable plug 19 for cleaning out the sediment. i

. The tubular pivots 14 and 15 form a. pivotal support for a lever 20 which carries-on one side of its pivot a tank 21, and it may be movements. The pedestal supported on the lever by a suitable bracket support 22 secured to one arm of the lever. The lever on the opposite side of the plvot carries a weight 23 which is preferably adjustable on the lever and may be secured in any adjusted position by any suitable means, such as a set screw 24-. This weight is insufficient to overbalance the tank 21 when it is filled with water. but is suflicient to overbalance this tank when the tank is empty and shift it to the dotted line position of Fi 1.

A pipe connection 25 leads from the Imiler below the water level therein and should be connected to the boiler at or below the low water level indicated at 26. This pipe is controlled by a hand valve 27 and leads to the trunnion 12. The tubular pivot 14 is in communication with the lower part of the tank 21 through a pipe 28, and a pipe 29 leads from the upper part of the tank through the tubular pivot 15, and the pipe 30 leads from the trunnion 13 to the boiler above the normal water level therein indicated at 31. This latter pipe may be controlled by a hand valve 32. The center line of the pivotal support 14 and 15 for the tank is located on the line of the low water level, and the tank is also normally below the normal water level 31 in the boiler. Therefore, it will be apparent that when the valves 27 and 32 are open water will flow through the pipe 25 and will fill the tank f and the pipes connected thereto to a point 33 in the pipe 30 which will be the same as the water level in the boiler.

Any suitable automatic means may be provided for operating the shutoff valve 9. In the present construction I have shown a pivoted lever 34 including a disc 35 having a notch 36land carrying on the arm thereof a weight 37. Mounted for sliding movement in a suitable bearing 38 in the pedestal 10 is a catch pin 39 connected by a link 40 to the lever 20 carrying the tank, and this connection to the lever is to the left of its pivot as shown in Fig. 1. The link 40 is pivoted at its opposite ends to the catch pin and the lever at points 41 so as to compensate for angular also carries a stop member 42 to limit movements of the lever 20.

Operation is as follows: As indicated above, with the arrangement shown, when the valves 27 and 32 are open water will fill the pipe 25, tank 21 and pipe 30 to the level 33 corresponding with level of the water in the boiler, and the level in this pipe 33 will vary to correspond with any changes in the level of the water in the boiler, so that should this water level drop from the normal level indicated at 31, the level 33 in the pipe 30 will drop with a corresponding amount. Tank 21, however, will always remain filled with water until the level in the pipe 30 drops to the level of the pivotal supports 1415 at which time the level in the boiler will be at the low Water level 26. When the water level reaches this point the tubular pivot 15 is brought into communication with the steam space in the boiler and the water in the tank 21' will drain out through the tubular pivot 14 and pipe 25 to the boiler. This will remove the weight of the water from the tank 21 which is now overbalanced by the weight 23 and will be shifted by this weight, which will also at the same time shift the lever 20, to the dotted line position of Fig. 1. This movement will lift the catch pin 39 releasing the lever 34 which will swing downwardly under the action of its weight 37 to the dotted line position and will operate the valve 9 to shut off fuel to the boiler. It is not necessary that this shut off means be a valve, as shown, as it might be any shutoff or control device to prevent further heating of the boiler. It could be used to operate a switch for starting a pump, stopping a blower, or for starting a pump, for operating a steam valve, or it could be used to operate a switch to cut off current supply to a heating element as will be apparent to one skilled in the art. It will also be understood that as soon as the normal water level is restored in the boiler the tank 21 will then again be filled with water and may be set at its normal position.

It will be apparent from the foregoing description that the device is a simple and efective one which operates entirely independent of any changes in steam pressure in the boiler, that it does not operate during normal operation of the boiler, but that as soon as the water level in the boiler reaches a predetermined low le el it operates immediately and positively to shut off the heating device, and will prevent burning or other injury to the boiler.

Having thus set forth the nature of my invention, what I claim is:

1. In a safety device for steam boilers including a heating means, a pivoted lever, a closed tank carried by said lever on one side of'its pivot, a weight on said lever on the other side of the pivot sufficient to tip the lever when the tank is empty and insuflicient to tip it when the tank is full, a connection from the lower part of the tank to the lower part of the boiler. a connection from the upper part of the tank to the boiler above the normal water level and between these points extended to the low water level, and means controlled by said lever for con trolling the heating means.

2. In a safety device for steam boilers having a heating means, a tank mounted for movement located above the low water level and below the normal water level in the boiler, means for shifting said tank when it is empty, a connection from the lower part of the tank to the lower part of the boiler, a connection from the tank to the boiler above the normal water level and extending bethe low water level,

tween these points to and means controlled by movement of said tank for controlling said heating means.

3. In a safety device for steam boilers having a heating means, a movable tank mounted above the low water level, and below the normal water level in the boiler, a connection from the lower part of the tank to the boiler at or below the low water level, a connection from the upper part of the tank to the boiler above the normal water level and extending between these points to the low water level, means for automatically shifting the tank when the water is drained out of it, and means controlled by movement of the tank for cutting off the heating means.

4. In a safety device for steam boilers having a heating means, 'a normally stationary tank, connections from the tank to the boiler above and below the normalwater level and arranged so that the tank is filled with water until the level of the water in the boiler reaches a predetermined low level and then will immediately drain the water from the tank, means for shifting the tank when empty, but of insufficient force tomove it when filled with water, and means controlled by movement of the tank for cutting off the heating means.

5. In a safety device for steam boilers having a heating means, a support provided with aligned tubular pivots, a tank located above said pivots) having a connection from the upper part thereof through one of said pivots to the boiler above the normal water level, a connection from the lower part of the tank through the other pivotto the boiler at or below the desired low water level, means over balanced by the tank when filled with water arranged to shift said tank about its pivot when empty, and means controlled by movementof the tank to cut off the heater.

6. In a safety device for steam boilers having a heating means, a tank ,located at a level between the normal and the low water levels in the boiler, a pivotal support for the tank including a lever, said tank being located onone side of the pivot for said lever, a wei ht carried b the lever on the other side 0% said pivot 0 sufficient weight to overbalance the tank when it is empty, a 'connection from the upper part of the tank to the boiler above the normal water level and extending below these points to the low water level, a connection from the lower part of the tank to the boiler at or below the desired low water. level, and means controlled by said lever for cutting off the heating means when the water is drained from the tank.

7. In a safety device for steam'boilers having a heating means, a support provided with aligned tubular pivots, a tank having a connection from the lower part thereof through one of said pivots to the boiler at or below the desired low water level, a connection from the upper part of the tank through the other pivot to the boiler above the normal water] level and extending below these points to the low water level whereby said tank remains either completely full of water or completely empty, a weighted lever over-balanced by the tank when filled arranged to shift said tank about its pivot when empty and means controlledby the movement of the tank to cut off the heater.

8. In a safety device for steam boilers having a heating means, a support provided with aligned tubular pivots, a tank having a connection from the lower part thereof through one of said pivots to the boiler at or below the desired low water level, a connection from the upper part of the tank through the other pivot to the boiler above the normal water level and extendingbelow these points to the low water level whereby said tank remains either completely full of water or completely empty, a weighted lever over-balanced by the tank when filled arranged to shift said tankabout its pivot when empty and means controlled by the movement of the tank to cut off the heater, said means including a second weighted lever, a catch for holding said sec- 0nd lever elevated, a connection from said first lever to said catch whereby movement of said first lever releases said catch to permit said second lever to pivot to cut off the heating means.

9. In a safety device for steam boilers having a heating means, a support provided with aligned horizontally disposed tubular pivots, a tank disposed above said pivots and having a non-flexible connection from the upper part thereof through one of said pivots to the boiler above the normal water level, a non-flexible connection from the lower part of the tank through another; of said pivots to the boiler at or below the desired waterv level, means mounted on said pivots and carrying the tank and over-balanced by the tank when the latter is filled with water, said means arranged to shift. said tank about its pivots when the tank is empty, and means controlled by movement of the tank to out off the heater.

10. In a safety device for steam boilers having a heating means, a support provided with aligned tubular pivots, a tank disposed above said pivots and having a connection from the lower part thereof through one of said pivots to the boiler at or below the.desired water level, a connection from the upper part of the tank through the other of said pivots to the boiler above, the normal water level thereof, a weighted lever over-balanced by the tank when filled and arranged to shift said tank about itspivot when the tank is empty, and means controlled by movement of the tank to cut off the heater.

11 In a safety device for steam boilers having a heating means, a lever pivoted intermediate its ends, a tank carried by said lever at one side of its pivot, a weight on said lever at the, other side of its pivot, a connec- 5 tion from the lower part of the tank to the boiler at or below the desired water level thereof, a connection from the upper part of the tank to the boiler above the normal water level thereof, and extending below said point to the low Water level whereby the tank remains either completely full or completely empty, said lever adapted to be over-balanced by the tank when the latter is filled, and said lever adapted to shift said tank by movement of the lever about its pivot when the tank is empty, and means controlled by movement of the lever to out off the heater. In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

WERNER BEUTEL. 

